🎉 Introducing the NEW Wee PlaySpace at Dr. Roberto Cruz-Alum Rock Branch! 🌟✨
It’s officially OPEN and ready for endless fun! 🥳
We’re passionate about supporting Wee Programs and PlaySpaces because we believe in the power of play and early childhood development. Learn more and get involved by visiting our website (link in bio).
Special thank you to Councilmember Ortiz!
San José Public Library’s (SJPL) Hillview Branch Library partnered with the San José Public Library Foundation to host an App Design and Development Club for Girls workshop series, facilitated by volunteers from Apple which supports SJPL through its Community Education Initiative.
The course was specifically designed for girls due to their low representation in STEM programs, and technology and coding classes.
The three-day series emphasized app design and coding, and was created with the hope of fostering a comfortable and welcoming environment that encourages young girls to explore coding as a career option. This exposure to coding sparks interest, allows excellent learning experience and skill development, and cultivates community and motivation for girls entering this field of work.
Apple’s Community Education Initiative provides coding, creativity, and workforce opportunities for underrepresented communities. Along with the volunteers who led the club, Apple provided its technology, including iPad, for each learner and worked hand-in-hand with SJPL to design the program.
“This is a coding club for girls, and we teach them the Swift programming language using Apple’s Swift Playgrounds, teach different coding concepts, and guide app design,” says volunteer instructor Allena V.
The program includes exercises that teach the basics of coding presented in a collaborative, engaging, and interactive format. Youth and volunteers used the Swift Playgrounds app on iPad where they used Swift coding language to help characters navigate puzzle worlds, change variables to change outcomes in touch events and more.
Girls also identified a challenge in their lives, storyboarded an app solution, and began to build an app prototype using Keynote. On the final day of camp, girls showcased app prototypes to help people stay organized, translate pet behaviors, create custom alarms using favorite songs and more.
Coding5K programs like this provide knowledge about coding and teach students to persevere in trying something they are passionate about regardless of any mistakes along the way.  “Our main intent with this program is to ensure these girls understand what coding is, get an experience or insight into how app development is done, enjoy the whole experience, connect with other kids that they are working with, and are motivated to take this to the next level,” says volunteer instructor Stuti G.
Girls leave these coding classes feeling encouraged to try new things. They are empowered to make their future what they want whether in STEM, coding, or other fields.
When Orizema decided to give back to her community as a Library volunteer, she had no idea that the experience would not only change her life, but that of her father’s as well.
Orizema was born and raised in San Jose’s East Side. The eldest of four children and daughter to immigrant parents, she learned early on the value of helping others. As a child, she often found herself translating for her parents and helping them navigate the challenges of life in a new country. She saw firsthand how difficult it can be to learn a new language as an adult.
A first-generation college student, Orizema stayed close to her family, studying graphic design at San José State University before landing her dream job as a visual designer with IBM. So, when she heard about an opportunity to volunteer with the San José Public Library as an English-language tutor in the Adult Literacy & ESL program (formerly known as Partners in Reading).
She now meets with three students twice a week to practice their English. “This experience allows me to connect with my community and even practice my own Spanish. It has been fulfilling for me to give back in the way I wish my parents had help when we were young.”
Beyond this sense of fulfillment and connection to her roots, Orizema is most excited about the impact her connection to the Library has had on her dad. “After I started tutoring, my dad signed up for the Library’s Career Online Highs School program and he is going through it now.”
Once he completes the program, Orizema’s father will earn his high school diploma and career certificate, opening a new chapter in his life all thanks to his daughter’s passion to give back.
Orizema may have expected that she would feel satisfied watching her students improve their English skills and grow in confidence, but she never expected to see her father’s life transformed as well. Volunteering with the library truly has come full circle for Orizema and her family.
